American Cinematographer - March 1995 - 86

WHY
SHOOT STOCK

ward less coverage and a
work. My approach was

lot of handheld
probably more

conventional, unless I felt that the energy
of the scene could support that kind of

shooting. I think we found a good bal¬
ance

and used the

movement very

more

kinetic

camera

Kimmel had tested Kodak's

cinematography, pick

up

choose it for New Jersey Drive. "I
wanted to do a lot of dark, edgy night
work and I couldn't imagine a more ap¬

had stock for."
The 98 stock let Kimmel

scenes as we

light

any angle, our aerial camera platforms are the
get your toughest shots with ease.

the footage I've seen in the rough cuts
reflects this. It's an unfortunate situation,
because many choices are made in de¬

and Kimmel

was

able to shoot the

night scenes with very little front
light and still have great detail in the
shadows without them turning muddy.
"We shied away from a slick approach
and went for minimalism, carving out a
shape with an edge of light in a black

signing the look of

frame."

could find. He found

alive; for visual separation, he made the

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day scenes look muted and unsaturated
by shooting with 93 and pull-develop¬
ing all day exteriors and interiors, over¬
exposing a stop and underdeveloping to
soften the contrast and mute the colors.
"I wanted the

days to look overcast, and

I often find the 93

a

bit saturated. It

worked great for Who's the Man?(which
he shot in 1992), but we wanted to stay
away

grey,

from anything but cool tones: blue,
green, black. We avoided reds and

yellows."
Kimmel lit

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84

raphy was hired about six months after
principal photography had finished to

handle it better." Most of the actors in
New Jersey Drive were African Ameri¬

action scenes
filmed at night ("that's when these kids
are in their element") Kimmel used color
and contrast to make the night come

Mitchell

about the

film, it's that another director of photog¬

shoot an additional week of inserts and
last-minute rewrites. "The person who
shot this never contacted me to talk
about the original cinematography and

For the many

■

camera

has higher contrast
sharper. I was work¬
larger percentage of black in

many

ideal way to

chases. Then with the handheld

handheld very well."
If he has one regret

early production around how much film
we had. We only did as many night

cans,

From ground level to 30,000 feet, from 70 to
200 MPH, air to air or air to ground, at virtually

shooting in cars, and
myself using the 35mm for the
widest shots and 75mm for close-ups,
only going to the 150 and 300 for car
I'd find

the first 98 to us, and we scheduled the

ing with a
the frame and found that this stock could

We ll Get The Shot.

usable lens when

work, I found this combination could
make the transition from dolly to

use

in a new way. "98
than 96 and is much

SHOOT FOR THE STARS

for two-shots. "It also became the most

of this film," he says. Mike
Brown, his Kodak rep, "doled out some of
plicable

the phone and call

(212) 529-4008 ext. 433

Kimmel used Panavision Primo

lenses, using the 40mm as his standard

then-new 98 stock on his previous film
The Ref, and was impressed enough to

of the world's smartest marketers of great

usually do for the actors' black skin tone.
But when it is applicable I prefer to
soften the light rather than the image."

effectively when it was ap¬

propriate."

Today, stock film offers an enormous oppor¬
tunity to showcase talent and generate
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Lazarus are just a few of the award-winning
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Image Bank Film Division. To talk with some

films and the savings are just one of the
reasons." He also tends to work without
diffusion. "I used more hard light than I

Jersey Drive with

film, and without
great cinematog¬
rapher would have a slim chance of keep¬
ing continuity on someone else's film."
Kimmel had researched his job
by watching every car chase movie he

communication

a

even a

some

of the most

powerful camerawork in French Connec¬
tion and Bullitt, and found that they had
captured the excitement of a chase with¬
out using too many cranes or fancy
angles. "In most films, the bigger the car
chase, the

more cuts.

But the real excite¬

ment of a car chase is

being in the car.
Every time the camera cuts, you have a
tiny sense of relief. You're no longer
stuck inside. The great thing about
French Connection and Bullit is that the
doesn't leave the car for long pe¬
riods. You're right there, ducking traffic."

camera

Keeping the camera in the car
kept Kimmel in the car, too. "This was a
car chase movie starring city kids who'd
never driven before," he says wryly. A
stunt man had given the actors a driving

tungsten for day and night interiors and

lesson

exteriors, using Maxi Brute nine-lights

gan.

But strapped in the back seat of the

and Chinese lanterns but "no HMIs at
all," he admits. "The biggest lights I used
were 10Ks. It was a cost-efficient pack¬

car,

with the actors at the wheel, his

which always helps, but I've been
working without HMIs for the last three
age,

Corporate Air Parts
March 1995

one

week before

production be¬

his shoulder and his life in his
hands, "was amusing," says Kimmel, "to
say the least."
i*
camera on
American Cinematographer - March 1995

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